Themepark

imagination
Authors/Illustrators

Authors and illustrators of children's and young adult books are in the business of imagination. They create worlds, landscapes, characters, dialog--all to please a child's sense of whimsy, adventure, magic, and humor.

Sample some of the following activities to learn more about authors and illustrators.

 

Places To Go    People To See    Things To Do    Teacher Resources    Bibliography

Places To Go

The following are places to go (some real and some virtual) to find out about authors and illustrators.

10 Minute Bedtime Tour
Go to your school or public library and check out a copy of the delightful book, 10 Minutes Til Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann and then take this online tour. Peggy Rathmann also wrote and illustrated the Caldecott Medal winner, Officer Buckle and Gloria.
Audrey Wood Clubhouse
Visit the Audrey Wood Clubhouse. Print out some activity pages for her books, Silly Sally and Little Penguin's Tale. Read about Audrey and her illustrator husband, Don Wood or even email them.
Janet Stevens
Spend some time in Janet Steven's art studio. She is the popular illustrator of the Ansansi books (written by Eric Kimmel), the Caldecott honor book Tops and Bottoms, and dozens more. Find out how she uses the computer to complement her imaginative artistic style.
Redwall
Travel to Redwall Abbey and meet all the characters in the Brian Jacques books.

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People To See

Dav Pilkey
The author of the Dumb Bunny books, the Little Dragon easy reader series, and the Captain Underpants books. He is also a Caldecott Honor Book winner for his illustrations in his book, The Paperboy.
Ernest Hemingway
Timeless Hemingway includes a wealth of information about Ernest Hemingway.
Jean Craighead George
Her books reflect her love of nature. Find out about her family members who are naturalists and how her early life influenced the topics of her books. Discover how she came to write Julie of the Wolves.
Kids' Corner
Spend some time with Squirrel Nutkin, Jeremy Fisher, Peter Rabbit, and many other delightful Beatrix Potter characters. Find out more about Beatrix Potter and her fascinating life.
Maurice Sendak
Where the Wilds Things Are is one of the top ten best selling children's books of all time. Meet the author and illustrator.
Nobel Foundation
Meet all the winners of the Nobel Prize for literature.
Rick Walton
Meet local Utah author, Rick Walton. He has written over 35 books and is a popular speaker at schools around Utah and in children's literature conferences. His website has curriculum ideas to use with his books.
Simms Taback 
Meet Simms Taback. He won the Caldecott Medal on February 21, 2000 for his book Joseph's Little Overcoat.
More Popular Children's Authors

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Things To Do

American Library Association - Caldecott Medal Home Page
Find out who won the Caldecott Medal this year. And then see who won the Newbery.
Astrid Lindgrin
Share some of your oldtime favorite books with your students. Introduce them to Pippi Longstockings and her author, Astrid Lindgrin.
Eric Carle
Eric Carle is known for his many enormously popular stories. His collage illustrations are characterized by a masterful simplicity that reflects deep understanding of young children.
Fairrosa Cyber Library
The purpose of these pages is to help educators and students to find links to books and authors.
From Pictures to Words: A Book About Making a Book
Check out this book by Janet Stevens. In it, she describes how she begins a book with an image in her mind and then creates a problem for her characters to solve. Also try How A Book Is Made by Aliki.
Horn Book - You Asked For It
From this helpful article written by Jon Scieszka, find out how to pronounce various author's and illustrator's names. (Hint: Jon Scieszka's last name is pronounced sheh-ska which rhymes with Fresca).
Jan Brett
Everyone is familiar with Jan Brett's delightful site. But be sure and check back often because she frequently updates her webpage and adds new activities, contests, and content.

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Teacher Resources

Lesson Plans/Webquests

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Bibliography
  • Christelow, Eileen. What Do Authors Do? New York: Clarion Books, c1995.
  • Christelow, Eileen. What Do Illustrators Do? New York: Clarion Books, c1999.
  • Hunter, Shaun. Writers. New York, NY: Crabtree Pub., c1998.
  • Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. How I Came to be a Writer. New York: Aladdin Books, 1987.
  • Sharp, Peggy A. Meet the Author. Book 3: Betsy Byars, Lorna Balian, Bernard Most, Denys Cazet. West Linn, OR: Designs for Learning, 1991.
  • Sharp, Peggy A. Meet the Author. Book 2: Brock Cole, Kevin Henkes, Katherine Paterson, Nadine Bernard Westcott. West Linn, OR: Designs for Learning, 1991.
  • Sharp, Peggy A.Meet the Author. Book 4: Margery Cuyler, Demi, Mem Fox, Jean Fritz. West Linn, OR: Designs for Learning, 1992.
  • Sharp, Peggy A. Meet the Author. Book 5: Barbara Berger, Nancy White Carlstrom, Thomas Locker, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. West Linn, OR: Designs for Learning, 1992.
  • Sharp, Peggy A. Meet the Author. Book 6: Lois Ehlert, Russell Freedman, Jon Scieszka, Ed Young. West Linn, OR: Designs for Learning, 1993.
  • Sharp, Peggy A.Meet the Author. Book 8: Trina Schart Hyman, Emily Arnold McCully, Patricia Polacco, Seymour Simon. West Linn, OR: Designs for Learning, 1993.
  • Sharp, Peggy A. Meet the Author. Book 9: Tom Birdseye, Barbara Robinson, Allen Say, Vera B. Williams. West Linn, OR: Designs for Learning, 1993.
  • Sharp, Peggy A. Meet the Author. Book 7: Lisa Campbell Ernest, Lois Lowry, Gerald McDermott, Joanne Ryder. West Linn, OR: Designs for Learning, 1993.